Page 12 of Lucifer's Redemption

"How old are you, dear?" Ember's voice wasn't quite as friendly now. Instead, it was more curious.

"Twenty-five," I hummed, still looking at the baby. "Mom and Dad are at home waiting for their baby," I said, offering more information than requested.

"Hera is pregnant? Again?" Ember said excitedly.

"Pregnant?" I questioned, tilting my head. "No, no, they are waiting for the stork to bring me a baby brother or sister. I have to wait in my room every night because they think that I will scare the stork off." I laughed, putting the honeysuckle in my mouth.

Hades' eyebrow raised, looking at Ember. I could tell they were having a silent conversation, but I wasn’t sure how.

Maybe they could mind-link like wolves can.

"What are you the goddess of, exactly?" Hades spoke to me. The power oozed from his body, freezing me in place.

I bit my cheek, trying not to cry at his scowling face. "Innocence," I muttered.

Hades looked at me and raised his eyebrows again before pulling Ember aside for a private conversation. Hades whispered harshly to Ember, "Don't do this. It will only create problems right now!"

I shrugged my shoulders, not understanding the conversation and not wanting to engage in whatever they were talking about. I wasn't feeling very welcome anymore, anyway. My mind returned to the puppies outside.

Maybe there was a garden to go look at?

"This will be a shit show!" Hades hissed loudly.

Another bad word! Dad said that word before, and Mom threatened to wash his mouth out with soap. I would never say such a word because tasting soap would be disgusting.

"Mother." A deep voice whipped through the air to my ears. It was velvety smooth with a hint of roughness around the edges.

Lucifer

"Come down here, please, Luci," my mother's voice traveled through the link. She was standing alone with Father and an angel whose back faced toward me.

I swear, if she is trying to introduce me to a girl, I might just throw flames across the room, breaking my promise of a smooth-sailing party.

Several wolves at the bottom of the landing watched every stride I took down the stairs. They started to giggle incessantly. I took deep breaths. Using the breathing exercises I learned, I continued to try to cool the boiling blood in my body. When I all seemed lost, I caught the sweet floral smell of gardenias.

I hadn't smelled gardenias since we visited the Black Claw Pack when I was a child. Mother had taken us to celebrate Christmas. Persephone's powers of spring growth willed the flowers around my grandmother's house to grow year-round, despite the cold winter temperatures. I had always been attracted to the smell. It reminded me of my youth and the innocence that I had lost so long ago.

My boiling blood dropped to a low simmer as the fresh, sweet smell calmed the beast inside my soul.

"Mother," I spoke to her. She stared up at me like I was a miracle to behold, but I was anything but that.

"Honey, I want to introduce you to someone."

Here it goes; she is going to try to force me to make a friend. She wouldn't dare introduce me to my mate in the state I was in, would she?

Then again, she didn't know how bad off I really was.

My jaw tightened; Father told me to remain calm through our link, "Calm. Calm yourself. You are doing great." His encouraging words helped me stand up straight, loosening the grip on my tightened fists.

The girl in front of me was short, just like my mother. Something about that had me sigh with relief. I liked that look on a woman: someone shorter than me.She flung her dark hair across her shoulder, hitting me with a wave of that glorious, floral scent. It wasn't overpowering; it was just the right amount of her and gardenias.

"Hi!" she spoke happily. "I'm Uriel!" Her face was pale, with no hint of the sun’s rays having touched her porcelain skin, while mine held a tan from the bright fires of Tartarus.

My parents were holding hands tightly beside me. I could feel my father's anxiety roll off him in waves.

My breath hitched at her beauty. No other woman has ever made an impression on me such as this. Her long hair tickled the tips of her hipbones and her wings sported beautiful golden tips. Her wings were not as large as an angel's but were still suitable for flying. Lost for words, I continued to stare into her enchanting, blue eyes.

I reached into her mind, trying to uncover any ill-intention or future sins. I could find none. She had no ill intent towards anyone and no sins or deeds to warrant punishing. She was purer than anyone in this entire room.

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